Illustration Tutorial for Beginners - Creating your own book cover in Copic Markers and Acrylic paint

Recently I started a community page to further help illustrators and artists with their artistic goals for 2023 - https://courses.dionhamill.com/communities/Q29tbXVuaXR5LTM0ODIy

I'm developing weekly lessons that students can dive into easily by watching short video tutorials such as the one linked at the bottom of this video.

I've been painting book covers of all types for 20 years and there are a lot of upcoming artists who I know would love to do the same.

So, what I want to do with this months first lesson is give you an inside view of how you can take an idea from its conceptual stage right up to your final artwork.






By the end of this month you’ll have one working method in an illustration technique that you can apply to your future work, whether it be personal, for a portfolio or professional work.


I’ve broken these lessons down into 4 weekly 1 hour classes to give you enough time to follow along, implement the ideas and still have a life.


Okay, so todays first lesson we’re going to look at developing some thumbnails for a book cover idea using Copic Markers for the initial sketch.  


For your project what I’d like you to do is imagine you’ve been asked to illustrate the cover of your favourite novel.  Its your dream job. And something you’ve always wanted to work on.  You’ve dreamt of this moment your whole career.


So for me, my book cover idea is going to be based on the classic 1965 science fiction novel Dune written by Frank Hebert.  Oh, and you are more than welcome to follow my exact process and replicate what I’m doing as your personal project if you wish.


In my version of the cover artwork, I want to capture the look and feel of the desert planet  Arrakis and its people The Fremen.


So its one of these Fremen characters I really wanted to focus on for this piece.


In the production of this piece we’ll be exploring composition, shading and colour.


Watch the introduction to this tutorial here - https://youtu.be/qyPeTCrwdS4




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How references can improve your art.

Image
There was always that one person in high-school who could just draw the heck out of anything. Give them a pencil and a sheet of paper they would draw whatever crazy thing the class could imagine.  Everyone would be huddled around a desk at the start of class, before the teacher would arrive. Watching in amazement as the kids pencil, in a flurry of graphite dust, conjured up their favourite comic character or drew a grotesque caricature of the angry math teacher, flinging some poor kid by the scruff of his pants down the hallway (true story). I was one of those kids once.  If someone asked me to draw something I would draw it.  Maybe part of me wanted to show off or maybe part of me was challenging myself.  Either way, the challenge of drawing from imagination pushed me out of my comfort zone.  It also made me realise what I could and could not draw well. To improve our art, I think one key element and probably the starting point to any good piece of art, is obse...
Read more

EGG MAN - My earliest comic book attempt

My love of making comics has been with me a long time.  The earliest  comic  I ever made was when I was about 7 years old. Egg-Man was his name. When I was a kid, where I grew up there were only 2 TV channels (something I try to remind my 4 year old daughter about constantly as she asks me to change the Youtube video multiple times in one minute).  So choices were pretty limited for entertainment for kids on TV. But every weekday in the afternoon there would be a few cartoons that would come on right before the news. A few of the names were,  Roger Ramjet ,  Banana man , Apple man,  Henry’s Cat ,  Bangers and Mash .  They were usually American or British but they were fun. So one afternoon, inspired by these cartoons, my best friend Gavin and I decided to make our own characters and make some short comic book stories with them. All we had at our disposal for supplies and materials at the time were some black pens my Dad had swiped from his st...
Read more

The Comparison Trap - or How to Look at other artists webcomics as inspiration rather than damnation.

Image
Image from webcomic Jim Reel Paranormal Investigator  Picture this. You’ve opened your web browser and gone to Google or Pinterest for inspiration for your next illustration. You eagerly type into the search: pictures of cats riding surfboards , to find references for your next idea. Suddenly, you see something that catches your eye.   It’s a drawing of a cat riding a surf board shooting a pistol at fish. Very similar to your own idea.   But executed to perfection by some random 12 year old artist who only uses coloured salt on animal hide.   The cat’s fur looks so realistic you want to pet it. The chrome reflecting the sunshine off the pistol, bathes you in a warm glow that reminds you of your childhood summers. And those eyes, those beautiful green cat eyes.   So, sooooo cute. You wonder “how can I possibly create something better than this?” Immediately you close the laptop and walk away to forget any idea of drawing that day and proceed to binge watch The Ma...
Read more